Testosterone, cortisol, and mood in a sports team competition

In-1 humans, hormonal responses to winning/losing and their relationships t o mood and status change have mostly been examined in individual athletic c ompetitions. In this study, the salivary testosterone (T) and cortisol (C) and mood responses to a real match between two professional basketball team s were investigated. Data about individuals' contributions to outcome, perf ormance appraisal, and attribution of outcome to internal/external factors were also collected. Results did not show statistically significant differe nt T and C responses depending on the outcome. Negative mood was significan tly enhanced, especially in the losers, while winners showed a better appra isal of team performance and a more internal attribution. T response did no t show a significant relationship with mood changes, but it correlated posi tively with the "score/time playing" ratio, an indicator of individual part icipation in the outcome. Furthermore, T response correlated negatively wit h external attribution in winners and positively in losers. These results i ndicate that in a real, highly competitive situation, T changes are not dir ectly a response to the outcome, but rather to the contribution the individ ual makes to it and to the causes he attributes. (C) 1999 Academic Press.